Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Like déjà vu all over again.

While I was basking in the glow of the suddenly departed great yellow orb, the deck chairs were being arranged for upcoming elections. It seems like everybody wants to be the Comeback Kid.

Down Olympia way, Denny Heck is gearing up to run in whichever Congressional district reapportionment puts him in. It's likely to be more favorable to him than the old 4th proved to be last time around, but if it's particularly more attractive to a Democratic candidate, there might be more than a couple of contenders.

When last seen, Laura Ruderman gave up her legislative seat for a statewide run for Secretary of State. She was one of the most credible candidates Democrats have put on the ballot for that office in recent years, but couldn't break the stranglehold Republicans seem to have established there. Now, if Jay Inslee gives up the seat for the Governor's race, she'll take a run at the 1st Congressional District. Living on the border of the 1st and 7th, I'm susceptible to redistricting and that may be the contest to determine my own personal future Congressman.

Of course, I'm perfectly happy with Jim McDermott as my Congressman, would just as soon see Jay stay put and build clout and, after the debacle of the Gregoire years, wouldn't mind if they'd just shutter the Governor's office for a few terms, but I suspect Laura's more likely to get her wish than I am to get mine. Just let me keep Jim, OK?

Locally, former Councilmember Janet Way is seeking to return to the Shoreline City Council. An advocate for both environmental and historic restoration and preservation in our community, Janet's also a friend and fellow blogger. She's a Democratic Party activist, too, and should find some institutional support from that direction (Our city government is officially non-partisan, but, like our big southern neighbor, uni-partisan's likely a better description.) The seat she's seeking this time is currently held by Doris McConnell, but the field's never defined till filing is closed. This could be one of the more interesting contests in our city's relatively short but spirited election history.

Meanwhile, it's filing week for a variety of local offices, which usually provides a few spills and thrills for political junkies. I'm off in search of news...

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2 Comments:

Blogger Demand said...

PROTECT IP Act, or PIPA, threatens all of our first amendment rights. It would enable the government to block access to sites, ending the Internet as we know it. Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon cautions, “The collateral damage of this approach is speech, innovation and the very integrity of the Internet.” We need to fight together against this travesty: send our letter to Congress here! http://act.demandprogress.org/act/pipa_letter/?source=tf

Even the experts say PROTECT IP is not the way to protect intellectual property rights; a study composed by internet experts including Paul Vixie of Internet Consortium and Danny McPherson of Verisign states, “[PIPA’s DNS targeting strategy] would likely prove ineffective at reducing online infringement.” Why risk our own internet freedom for a bill that will prove “ineffective” at achieving its aims?

The Motion Picture Association of America claims that the 24,000 who have already sent our letter to Congress are false identities used by Demand Progress to bolster our numbers.

Prove the MPAA wrong and stand up for your rights by sending out this letter: http://act.demandprogress.org/act/pipa_letter/?source=tf

7:59 AM  
Blogger Janet Way said...

Hi Shaun, Thanks for the mention. I'm happy to report that I DID get the endorsement of 32nd LD Dems last night. Onward!

7:21 AM  

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